“Teenager Almighty Archer” Shoots for Athens

Korea is the world’s best in archery, earning 11 gold medals in the past Olympics. As archery is the most promising event for gold medals, it is said that being a national player is more difficult than being an Olympic champion. With that, a domestic tryout is having keen competition.

The Korean national archery team for the Athens Olympic in August was settled through these severe tryouts, which were likened to “camels going through the eye of a needle.” On the last day of the final tryouts held at the archery field of Taenung Training Center on May 26, Yoon Mi-jin (Kyounghee University), Park Seong-hyun, and Lee Seong-jin (Chonbuk Provincial Government) for the women, and Chang Yong-ho (Yecheon County), Park Kyoung-mo (Keyanggu), and Lim Dong-hyun (Choongbuk Athletic High School) for the men were decided as the final entries for the Olympics.

“Surprising Star” is 19-year-old’s Lee Seong-jin. Competing for third place against “Married Woman” Chung Chang-sook (Daegu-westgu), Lee placed first in the morning match to beat seventh place Chung and became a national player.

As a former student of the prestigious Hongseong Girls’ High School, which had produced former national players, Kim Jo-soon and Yoon Hye-young, Lee has been an unknown player and has never been a champion in nationwide events in her junior days. However, she developed herself strongly since joining the eight national members last year and placed third in the Asian Cup.

She is good at power and offensive shooting, with a grand-looking figure of 164cm and 65kg. The coach of the women’s national team, Seo O-seok, explained, “She shoots arrows quickly to use blitzing tactics.” Lee was an athletic sprinter.

Traditionally, high school students were outstanding in the Olympics, just like “Cinderella” of women’s archery. Seo Hyang-soon, who was a gold medalist in the singles competition at the 1984 L.A. Olympics, was a student from Kwangju Choong-ang Girls’ High School, and “Almighty Archer” Kim Soo-nyoung took the gold in the 1988 Olympics during her Cheongju Girls’ High School days.

Yoon Mi-jin also had seized two gold medals in the Sydney Olympics as a result of her days at Gyeonggi Athletic High School, so it is expected that the tradition of the teenager’s upset will continue in Athens Olympic.

It is now evaluated that this men-women national team is the best ever. In the women’s section, two gold medalists in Sydney, Yoon Mi-jin and the winner in singles at the 2001 Beijing World Championship, Park Seong-hyun, are supported by a newbie, Lee Seong-jin, and are equipped in both experience and a youthful spirit.

The men’s team is also as good as the women’s team. Chang Yong-ho, who shot a perfect score of 120 points (unauthorized world record), will enter his third consecutive Olympics as a veteran. Eighteen-year-old Lim Dong-hyun is a “surprising teenager” who advanced to the final in singles at the New York World Archery Championship last year.

The national team will go to first division in Moonsan, Paju of Kyounggi Province for a one-night two-day mental training session, and then head for Germany and Athens for on-the-spot training on June 10. They are scheduled to have practices at Jamsil Baseball Stadium and Cyclodrome with many spectators watching in a bid to foster their courage in July.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com